Senate Refuses To Strip Out $100 Million In Iraq Bill For '08 Conventions

The Senate on Wednesday turned back an attempt by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) to strip $100 million in funding for the 2008 Democratic and GOP conventions from the Iraq spending bill. The vote was 51 votes against his amendment, 45 in support. Both Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) voted against Coburn's amendment.

Coburn argued that the convention funding, split evenly between Democrats and Republicans, was not an emergency and didn't need to be in the Iraq bill. But Sens. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) and Ken Salazar (D-Colo.) representing the host cities of Minneapolis, Minnesota (Republicans) and Denver, Colorado (Democrats) both need the money to begin making security preparations.